85% of IT professionals see cybersecurity as the biggest priority of 2018

According to new research from Invotra, 79% of senior IT managers in the public sector and 85% in the financial sector consider data and systems security to be the biggest priority of 2018.

The survey saw 504 senior IT managers respond across both the public sector and financial corporations, with both groups stating that high profile cyberattacks was causing greater scrutiny upon existing systems.

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“We commissioned this research to understand digital challenges facing the financial and public sectors,” said Fintan Galvin, Chief Executive Officer at Invotra. “Both sectors are under pressure to modernise systems, make them accessible, and to keep pace with emerging technologies; all the while tackling sophisticated security threats. These are real hurdles for IT professionals today so it's no wonder they have concerns for the year ahead.”

However, whilst 88% of public sector firms and 94% of financial organisations said their cybersecurity systems were adequate, 49% and 64% of these also stated that their institutions were currently not investing adequately into digital transformation initiatives.

Further, just 46% of public sector and 54% of financial sector IT professionals believe that their companies are investing enough into emerging technologies such as blockchain, AI and biometrics.

“Organisations need to wake up and realise that enhancing digital capabilities is about enabling people and not the sole responsibility of IT departments,” Galvin continued.

“This research highlights a need for widespread buy in, and understanding of digital workplace technologies across organisations, and for proper user training. Without this, transforming the internal and external customer experience, is going to prove impossible.”